The Red Brick Times

"Every normal man must be tempted at times to spit on his hands, hoist the black flag, and begin to slit throats."
- H. L. Mencken

Why the Menken Quote? Check this out: 75% Of Latest Bank Of America Bailout Used To Pay Merrill Lynch Bonuses.

Just another day in corporate America (and for the worthless scum representing us).
Posted 3:26 PM by whatley (4) comments

       Comments:

Isn't Capitalism just an evolved form of Piracy? Whose side was Mencken on anyway?

# posted by  Andy : January 27, 2009 6:10 AM
 
Moral corruption is not a function of economic system.

"The ethical man knows what he should not do. The moral man doesn't do it."

When there is no repercussion for immoral behavior and we trust to the moral fiber of others, we are too often disappointed.

Letter I received from Sherrod Brown regarding this issue:

"Thank you for contacting me with your concerns about how the money allocated through the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act (EESA) is being spent.

In October, the Treasury Department began to implement the EESA using the broad authority that was granted to it. As part of the proposal, Congress worked to ensure that provisions were included in the package to authorize the Treasury Department to prohibit executives from receiving lavish pay or golden parachutes. Unfortunately, Treasury did not put this authority to good use, rather, it set out limitations that still permit very generous pay packages.

There have been recent news reports that the companies receiving assistance through this legislation may grant significant bonuses to their employees this year, regardless of the financial troubles that forced them to seek help from the federal government. I share your outrage at this discovery. Middle-class families are facing difficult economic troubles. It is wrong for the employees of these companies to receive lavish perks and compensation.

In addition, several of the banks receiving federal assistance have indicated that they may use part of the money received through the federal government for acquisitions of other banks. Congress approved provisions to supply banks with more money for the purpose of giving out more loans. If these banks are in need of government monies, they should not be using these funds to purchase other banks. Government money should be used to help struggling companies survive – not to help healthy corpporations expand.

Accountability and transparency regarding the use of this funding must be our top priority. I will work hard to ensure that banks spend the rescue funds as Congress intended." - - Sherrod Brown

# posted by  jeichenlaub : January 27, 2009 8:17 AM
 
Mencken used the word "normal" and not "moral". Ethos and morality are tags on philosophical postulates. Likewise, the Communism of the USSR was not the Communism of Lenin and Marx. The Honorable Joseph McCarthy (and J Edgar Hoover) confused the two and many idealistic US Citizens suffered under the inquisition. The Communism of China is Capitalistic with catholic absolutism frosting. The Capitalism of the United States is piracy with golden parachute chandeliers.

# posted by  Andy : January 28, 2009 4:58 AM
 
"Despite crippling losses, multibillion-dollar bailouts and the passing of some of the most prominent names in the business, employees at financial companies in New York, the now-diminished world capital of capital, collected an estimated $18.4 billion in bonuses for the year..... A poll of 900 financial industry employees released on Wednesday by eFinancialCareers.com, a job search Web site, found that while nearly eight out of 10 got bonuses, 46 percent thought they deserved more."

# posted by  whatley : January 29, 2009 5:47 AM
 
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